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Filmmaker Ava DuVernay explores the history of racial inequality in the United States, focusing on the fact that the nation’s prisons are disproportionately filled with African-Americans.
Assignment: Discussion Questions on the film, 13th
Total points you can earn for this assignment: 75
- What was your initial reaction after watching 13th? How did you feel? Did you feel helpless, inspired, stirred to action, or experience other emotions? Explain.
- What’s the underlying motive for the 13th amendment leaving a loophole for slave labor? Were you aware that the 13th Amendment still allows for some forms of slavery?
- How does the 13th characterize our criminal justice and political institutions? How did this film shape your understanding of the prison system?
- This film is full of statistics, many of them startling. Which statistic stood out to you the most? Why do you think this is? What will you do with this statistic?
- How do you think media and popular culture representations of Black Americans, particularly Black men, have contributed to a climate of white fear and anxiety? How has that affected tough-on-crime policies?
- How much did you know about the war on drugs and war on crime before watching the film?
- How was the ‘War on Drugs’ used to reinforce racism? Think about the ways in which the government used crack as a way to target minority and poor communities.
- What do you think about the present state of the American prison system? Explain.
- The film argues that there is a direct link between American slavery and the modern American prison system. What is your take on this argument? Do you see yourself making any personal changes in your life after having watched 13th? If so, what kinds of changes?
